Dark Energon
by diamondsinthesand
Summary: Short story for Jazz'sGirl813. Annie's father brings home five friends one day, but something is off about them. She feels a connection with one of them, but will her past get in the way? Rated T for minor language. POV'S will switch (with warnings) at times.
1. Chapter 1

_**HELLO EVERYONE!**_

Soooo this was originally supposed to be a one-shot, got a little carried away with the plot... It is almost completely written (100+ pages by hand), but it would be far too tedious to write that in one chapter. So I split it and made it a coupld chapters. X3 Chapter endings will be pretty random, whenever I feel like posting. Will try to get the whole thing up soon, but... well, yeah.

OMG NOW LISTEN TO ME ENTHUSE.

SO I FOUND OUT MY BOYFRIEND ALSO LIKES TRANSFORMERS.

MADE MY LIFE.

I will be doing no activity whatsoever today (same goes for tomorrow, too, probably), I have WPA with Elijah (my boyfrieennnnddd :3) and stuff to catch up on. REALLY need to update my other two stories, needa post at least a chapter on each before I do more of this, but I wanted to at least start this for _**Jazz'sGirl813. **_Here you go!

Chapter One-Rude Awakening

***(No)*(One's)*(POV)***

Light fluttered against Annie's window as a soft breeze drifted through the cracked glass. She shuddered and sub-sonsciously pulled her zebra striped comfortor tightly around her neck. Her translucent purple curtains fluttered a bit, causing sunlight to strobe against Annie's fave. She cringed away, but found it impossible to escape the light assault.

With an annoyed sigh, the teenager threw off her blanker and stumbled to the window. She slammed it closed and put the curtains back in place before skittering back over the freezing woody floor and into the warmth of her bed.

It was still early, which was probably why it was chilly. Unfortunately for Annie, she'd worn her flimsy rainbow striped shorts and a comfortable grey longsleeve, which didn't offer much protection from the elements. Refusing to go back onto her cold floor, Annie reached for her dresser, hanging precariously halfway off of the bed as she pulled a pair of socks out. She pushed herself awkwardly back to her bed, then drowsily slipped her mismatched knee highs on. They went to just above her knee.

She swung her legs off of the bed and into a pair of fluffy cat slippers, groaning as she slowly stood and tromped over to her mirror, which was above her dresser. She stared blankly at her reflection for a few minutes before her brain finally kicked into gear again.

Annie had bright blue-green eyes, which were currently the slightest bit bloodshot. A mess of wavy light brown hair seemed to be dogpiling on the crown of her head-she quickly brushed it out and put it into a messy bun. Still groggy, she slid her eyeglasses out of the case and pushed them on. They were pretty, but Annie wished she could use conatcts without the hassle of taking them out everytime anything that could be considered even remotely dangerous.

She grabbed her smartphone and stalked out of her room, which really didn't have much in it, and down the stairs, taking care not to slip. Only when she had safely reached the carpetted downstairs did she allow herself to go ahead and check her phone.

The time read as almost nine. Annie had four texts-it abruptly buzzed again, so she had five. She set the cell down on the kitchen island as she padded in and poured herself a big bowl of fruit loops before bothering to see who they were from. By the time she had poured milk and taken the first bite, she had four texts-it abruptly buzzed again, and she had five. The missed call was from her dad, she realized anxiously. And with a sense of impending doom, she saw the texts were also from him.

At 4:27am-Hey Annie, I'm bringing over some friends from work. They'l be staying for a few weeks. Not sure which ones yet, will let you know.

At 7;13am-We are on our way home.

At 8:02am-Annie, you awake? You should probably prepare for them. There are five of them coming with me.

At 8:53am-We'll be there in about half an hour.

At 9:09am-Text me when you wake up, kiddo. Or face pranks by the twins when we get there in a few.

Annie dropped her phonne on the counter instantly, giving herself a once over in the reflection of the oven. She cursed, but didn't have time to do much else as the front door swung open. Her dad stood in the entryway and grinned at her through the hallway, clearly amused.

"Come meet my friends," he ordered playfully. Kevin Hawthorne had hazelly-green eyes and hair that matched his daughter's. His skin was tNner than hers and worn from years of military work.

"I so hate you right now," Annie hissed. Her and her dad had more of a friendship than anything. Ever since her mother had... Well, Kevin and his daughter had worked together to keep each other strong. And with her dad gone for weeks at a time, Annie had learned to be responsible. Thank the heavens she was relatively tidy, or else Kevin's friends would have walked into a pigsty.

"Come on," he insisted, seeing his hesitation.

Annie puffed her chest out and strutted out the door, trying to look as dignified as possible in her current attire.

Five vehicles were parked in semi circle formation a few yards from the porch. Annie stopped dead, staring in between the unusual automobiles to the people next to what could only be their own vehicles.

"Annie, meet Richard Tarne." Her dad led her down the stairs and to a man standing by a yellow, mint green, and white emergency Hummer. The man stood stiffly beside the driver's door, as if hesitant to leave proximity of it.

"Hi." Annie attempted a kind smile, but she was cold, so it looked more like a grimace as she shakily stuck her hand out to shake his.

Richard stared at it for a few moments. She was about to drop it awkwardly, but he then seemed to understand, and took her grasp firmly. He had salt-and-peppery colored hair that was of average length. His skin was slightly tanned, and a war-chiselled expression seemed so make him look forever grim. But what really shocked Annie were his eyes. They were a stunning electric blue, seeming to almost glow. She found herself unable to hold his gaze-it was almost frightening to her, for some reason.

A slight tingling sensation ran through her, and Richard released her hand. "The femme is cold," he abruptly stated, almost simultaneously as the weird goosebumps feeling inside of her ended.

"The what?" Annie questioned, never having heard the term 'femme' before.

"The _female _is cold," Kevin said, shooting Richard what was supposed to be a discreet glare. "He said 'the_ female _is cold.'"

"Here," a gentle, rumbly voice offered, wrapping a fringed quilt around Annie's shoulders from behind. She wrapped it tighter around herself and turned to smile genuinely at the giver. His chocolatey brown hair was neat but slightly wavy, and he had fair skin and an air of sincerity about him.

"Thank you." Though the blanket was short and only went to midcalf around her, she was grateful.

"You are welcome," he nodded formally. Behind him was a red and blue flame patterned Peterbilt semi. It was huge, and had a sense of regalness to him. So did whoever Annie was talking to, actually. It seemed, at least so far, that the vehicles were suited to the drivers.

"Orpheus, Annie. Annie, this is Orpheus Prime," Kevin introduced them.

"Please to meet you," she greeted him politely.

"And you, as well."

_Gosh, _Annie mused to herself. _He talks like Yoda or something._

She then noticed that his eyes were the same color as Richard's-a neon blue. Confusion colored her face as her gaze switched between the two. They looked nothing alike, so she doubted they were related. Was is a squad thing? Were they all wearing matching contacts or something, to distinguish themselves, or something?

"Come meet the twins," Kevin cut in, noticing her bewilderment.

Annie nodded slowly, allowing her dad towards to younger men. This time, her gaze immediately went to their eyes-neon blue. She would question them later. They looked very similar, both having fair skin and an identical body structure. One, who was in front of a red Lamborghini was grinning at Annie-he had hair matching the color of his car. The other was in fron of a gold Lamborghini, and also had blonde hair the same hue as his vehicle. He seemed more hostile than the other, judging from the disgusted grimace he was giving her.

"Annie, this is Sam-" Kevin pointed to the blond. "-and this is Kyle Sille." He motioned to the red-head. "Like I said, twins."

"Did they paint their cars to match their hair, or vise versa?" Annie wondered without thinking.

"Uhhh.. I don't know." Kevin looked at his daughter funny. "Finally, come meet Jack." He led me to the last car. The man leaning against the hood of the Pontiac Solstice seemed the most at ease, of all of Kevin's friends, with a good natured smirk on his face. He had wind tossed platinum blonde hair, that seemed to have silvery strands when the light hit it right. He had fair skin and wore a pair of visor like sunglasses.

"H-hello," Annie offered meekly. This person actually intimidated her more than the rest. He seemed almost too relaxed, like he was either forcing himself to appear so, or he was contemptful of everyone around him, and didn't think they deserved his respect. Not to mention the fact that he was drop dead sexy. Jack appeared maybe the same age as the twins-they couldn't be older than twenty-five.

"'Sup?" His smirk never faltered.

_I want to see behind those visors, _Annie decided, intrigued. He seemed to be the type to be hiding something. Hell, they all did.

"Come on, let's go inside," Kevin suggested, eyeing his shivering daughter. While the quilt helped, it was still too cold for his poorly equipted daughter.

Annie didn't wait a second, hurrying into the house and into the kitchen. She poured her now soggy cereal down the sink regretfully, then turned to go and-

She jumped and cringed away, holding a hand over her heart as she was surprised by Richard's figure towering over her. "Jesus, Richard... You scared me," she panted, trying to breath away the adrenaline rush.

"Why did you dispose of your fuel source?" he demanded. At first, Annie thought he was kidding, but his serious expression told otherwise.

"Umm... I'm not hungry," she muttered, not meeting his eyes.

"It is said that the first meal of the day is the most important one. You _must _eat," Richard ordered. "Retrieve more fuel."

Annie stared at him incredulously for a moments, before her dad walked in and saved her. He must not have liked seeing his daughter half cowering under Richard's intense stare, looking shocked.

"Easy, Ra-Richard. What's going on?" he questioned cautiously.

"She disposed of her fuel source," Richard replied evenly.

Kevin resisted the urge to facepalm. Of course. This would be a long stay while the base was moved to Diego Garcia...

"It's best to listen to Ratchet. Or else he'll probably force feed you," Annie's dad pointed out.

"O-okay." The teenage scurried to the pantry and got the Fruit Loops and poured herself another bowl. She sat to eat it quickly, hoping to join them when she finished... Richard watched her every bite.

_Most awkward breakfast ever!_

*(Chapter)*(End)*

Not a very interesting chapter. Keep in mind, since this is a short story (I did say it was for **Jazz'sGirl813 **didn't I?), it will be going relatively quickly. Thanks for reading! Please follow/fave/review! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

I'm really sorry for the late update, you guys! D: My only excuse is that I got hooked on a fanfiction (Called "My Twins" by DaemonicKitty ((or something)), and you guys should seriously read it!). I read the whole thing (96 chapters and over 100,000 words) and though I am sad to see it gone, now I have more time to write! xP Well, here is your chapter!

Chapter Two

*(A)*(Few)*(Hours)*(Later)*

After Richard had all but forced Annie to eat, the posse had all gathered in the living room, pondering over a small conflict-where would everyone sleep? Annie wasn't surprised that her dad hadn't thought of this before-she didn't get her lack of organization from her mom. However, after a few minutes of debate, it was decided that Sam (owner of the gold Lamborghini) and Kyle (owner of the red Lamborghini) would share the guest bedroom, Richard (owner of the emergency Hummer) and Orpheus (owner of the flamed Peterbilt semi) would sleep in Annie's room, and Jack (owner of the silver Pontiac Solstice) would take the couch. Annie herself would camp out with her dad in his room.

Currently, Annie was tossing and turning on her dad's bed. Even though she'd planned on sleeping on the small couch in his room, her dad inisited she got the bed while he slept on the couch. Still, sleep just wan't coming.

Without a sound, Annie slid off of the edge of the bed and crept past her dad, sneaking through the door. She padded down the stairs, grabbing a light mint green jacket from where she had carelessly strewn it over the railing. She slipped it on over her pajamas (which she had worn all day out of sheer laziness), and tiptoed down the hallway and through the empty living room.

Annie froze. The living room was _empty._ As in, no Jack. She expected him to jump out at her at any moment and said "boo." But there wasn't a sound in the house, except for the soft creaking of her weight on the wooden floor.

The tense silence seemed to stretch for eternity, before Annie finally crept to the front door, slipping on her grey Vans, then inching herself through the few inches she allowed it to open.

She let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding as the door clicked closed. She only hoped her dad didn't wake up. It wasn't like she was sneaking out with friends-she had about two, since she lived in the country and was homeschooled. The two she did have were two teenagers also homeschooled that she emailed or texted every now and then. No, Annie was just going to walk for a little while and try and tire herself a bit. Still, if Kevin woke up, he might've just sent a search party out for her.

Annie sighed again and tiptoed down the four steps from her porch to the ground. The cars were parked in the same places as before-but this time, she noticed something on the Peterbilt semi. It was an odd insignia on the top center of the grill. She wondered why she didn't notice it before. Curious, Annie walked over to it, but couldn't quite reach the insignia with her small figure.

She turned to leave, but spotted the same symbol on Richard's ambulence, drawing a small, confused smile from her. It was on the side of the right door, this time. _How weird, _she thought. _Did they all have it?_

Annie walked around the Hummer and to the matching Lamborghinis. To her astonishment, they also had the signs, both on the furtherboth part of their hoods, near the middle, popped up proudly like silver plaques. _Could it be a visual for their group? Like the contact lenses?_

Finally, she walked over to the Jack's vehicle, figuring it would continue the trend and curious to where it would be on his. She circled the Pontiac Solstice, but to her growing bewilderment, found nothing. She took another round around it, this time absentmindly trailing her fingers along the contours of the car. _Now, where is that-_

Annie abruptly jerked away from the car as it seemed to _rumble _under her touch, like the engine was starting. But it wasn't. She barely caught herself from falling into Sam's car in shock-She could have sworn the metal had almost _purred _beneath her, but now it was so silent... Annie warily dismissed it as her being jittery, but still saved the memory to the back of her mind.

"Aha!" She exclaimed triumphantly as she pinpointed the insignia through the windshield on the dashboard. She just as quickly covered her mouth with her hand, silently berating herself for being so loud.

Done with that, she started past the cars to walk out through the field. There was a creek out aways, but she probably wouldn't go that far. As Annie meandered aimlessly through the tall, soft grass, her thoughts wondered. Her dad's friends were-frankly?-really weird. That Sam Sille really freaked her out. From what she'd picked up, he was bluntly rude to just about everyone. At one point, when she had touched the hood of his car, awestruck by the lovely paint job, he had flipped out and probably would have attacked Annie had Orpheus not stepped in. Even so, he still didn't hesitate to glare daggers at her and snap, "Don't ever touch that again, squishy!"

Annie hadn't known whether to be shocked, afraid, or insulted. First and foremost, she hadn't expected him to so passiontely hate her for _liking _his car. She was also intimidated by his direct fury. Nor did she know what a squishy was-was he calling her fat?

Sam's twin, Kyle, wasn't nearly as bad as his counterpart, but had a mischeivous and prankster side that Annie had to watch out for. Either way, he seemed a lot like his brother to a lesser degress, and didn't know yet if they could get along together.

Orpheus seemed a lot kinder. Though huge in stature, he had a heart to match, and had defended the bewildered teenager when Sam had yelled at her, sending him huffing away. He had also given her the quilt when she had been cold earlier that day (which she had since returned). Orpheus just had this... aura about him. He seemed regal and powerful, but also had a gentleness about him that was hard to place.

Richard was quite uptight, blunt, but by no means cruel. He took things and spoke things as they were. "You have a lot of textbooks," he'd stated upon entering her room and seeing her bookshelf. She almost commented something sarcastic, but he was right. It was literally full to the brim of college level education books. He'd proceeded to ask why-he struck Annie as the curious type, and so far, she hadn't been proven wrong. She told him the truth, that she enjoyed studying different topics as she looked for what she wanted to major in for college two years from then. Ratchet had been pleased to hear that she currently was interested in sciences, including biology, astronomy, and physics, as wall as art and mechanics.

And then, there was Jack.

She wasn't sure what to think of the confidant, friendly guy. He was only a few years older than her-he seemed wise beyond his years, but still somehow young. He always had a charming smirk pasted on his face, yet still crossed his arms as if protecting himself. Jack didn't ever really say anything about himself or his past, but one thing was obvious.

He _loved _music.

When she first noticed an earpiece on him, Annie had questioned why he had it. Jack had smiled at her and said, "Music." He hadn't taken it out, not even once, for as long as Annie had seen him here. And whenever she asked what he was listening to, it was always a new genre not even remotely similar to the previous one. Everything from pop to country to punk to jazz. She completely undertood, having a similar sporadic taste in music. She enjoyed a few dancy songs as well as some orchestra, and other stuff. Usually, she preferred music that expressed her moods through lyrics or rhythm.

Annie sat on a large flat rock as she reached the creek. Her thoughts had caused her to loose track of how far she's gone, not that it mattered. She'd be home eventually. The scariest thing out here was a scarecrow or-oh no-maybe even a snapping turtle.

This caused Annie to disregard the cracking in the brush beside her as she pulled out her iPod from her jacket pocket. She stuck in a single headphone and played an intense orchestra piece by Steve Jablonsky.

The snapped and crackling got louder;it seemed to be uncaring or unrelying on stealth. Annie hesitated, finally wondering what could be so loud..

"Hello?" she called meekly, her music still playing dramatically in the background.

All too suddenly, the movement stilled.

"... Is anyone thhere?" she tried again, anxiously rising to her feet.

A few moments of silence passed.

"... Annie?"

*(END)*(CHAPTER)*

Cliffhanger x3 I'm so mean. Hehehehe. I am spring break now and I PROMISE to post at least once more before it is over, hopefully more. Hehe. Bye bye!


	3. Chapter 3

Yay I kept my promise :D Hehe. Thanks to **BrokenScarlet, starlight837, Bee'sGirl813, ****crimsoneyedangel18, scarecrowlovinggirl98, Jazz'sGirl813, Autobot Mechanical-operations, Guest, RANDOM FOX GRRL, TheGhost129, **and** UNICORNSPOORAINBOWS **(whoever you are, I love your name XD).

Lol, you know what I realized a few days ago? Annie and Jack are the characters from The Magic Tree House XD ... Right? I used to read them all the time, I think I remember right.. x3

Onwards!

Chapter 3-

"... Annie?"

Said girl spun around, confused at the voice coming from the direction opposite of the noise. She could have sworn the shuffling had come from the other way... Annie quickly identified the figure approaching her from some thicker brush and smiled in relief.

"Jack. Hey."

"Hey, lil lady. You alright?" he wondered, his original caution giving way to his usual charm. Something about it seemed off, though. He was a bit too tense, and was trying hard to hide it.

"I'm fine." Annie's eyes flickered to the now silent area behind her. "How did you get over here so quickly? I heard something over there." She narrowed her eyes scrutinizingly as another possibly more disturbing though crossed her mind. "... Were you following me?"

"Did you see anything?" Jack demanded, ignoring her half-teasing remark. He was too serious, especially for him. Jack was a lot of things, but he wasn't easily ruffled.

"No... Jack, is everything okay? It was probably just a squirrel." Annie was flattered over his obvious concern but doubted it was anything all that bad and didn't want him to worry.

He was oddly for a few moments, staring over her shoulder behind her. "You're probably right." His vision refocused on her, and all of a sudden, Annie flushed. He grinned easily, noting her reaction but not making much of it. "Why are you out so late?"

"My dad snores," she replied, smirking. "Hard to sleep in the same room as _that_."

Jack laughed slightly. "Well, you're welcome to kick it in my car. It's comfortable, I promise." His stance relaxed ever so slightly, and he pushed his visor-like sunglasses up before crossing his arms.

"Sure," Annie smiled, surpriyhsed at the offer but willing to give it a go. A tiny part of her mind couldn't help but wonder if he was hinting at something more, but she pushed it away before she could blush.

"You're pretty far from your house." Jazz cocked an eyebrow. "Meeting someone?"

"Only you," Annie retorted teasingly. She was hesitant to joke with him, but he didn't seem like the type to snap at her for a lame attempt at humor.

"Well, hows about we head back ta the others?" Jack suggested. "Don't want you to get hurt out here."

"I'm sure you could protect me."

"Pretty girls shouldn't be out alone at this hour," Jack pointed out. His grin widened and made a blunt show of giving her a once over. "_Anything _could happen."

Annie was glad he wasn't being as serious. It was so.. un-Jack-like. Still, she wished her cheeks didn't heat up the way they did. She only hoped he couldn't see it in the starlight. "I could totally take ya."

He chuckled in a way that sent chills down Annie's spine. "I'm sure you could, but it's hard to fight when you're enjoying yourself~"

"You perverted bastard!" Annie laughed, flushed and surprised at his sudden teasing. She pushed him away from her good naturedly.

"Just don't tell Kevin." He looked thoughtful for a moment, then twisted his face up weirdly.. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he'd kill me."

"Probably," Annie agreed, smiling as she imagined it.

"You look so shocked," Jack snickered. He casually started back through the grass to head home, going slow so Annie knew to follow.

"I didn't expect you to have a dirty mind," she admitted sheepishly, catching up to walk beside him.

"I prefer to call it a sexy imagination," he smirked, passing Annie a sly grin. She laughed again-it seemed she was doing that a lot around him-amused by his rewording. She peeked over at him, but suddenly noticed something missing. "Jack! You're earpiece is gone!" She still had her single headphone in.

"Thanks for reminding me," he sighed dryly. "I... I was in a rush coming after you. I, uh, forgot to take it out of the charger in my car."

"Why were you hurrying after me?" Annie wondered, furrowing her eyebrows. She stumbled over a small cluster of rocks but Jack quickly took her elbow and helped rebalance her. She mumbled her thanks.

"I was worried, is all," Jack replied easily. "I saw you leave and wanted to make sure you were okay."

"Well..." Anna picked up her free headphone from where it dangled against her waist. "Do you want to share my music?"

Jack's cool smile turned into something more genuine. His eyes lit up happily, and his whole face seemed to have a brighter outlook. "I thought you'd never ask. Thanks."

"What do you want to listen to?" she questioned, scrolling through her iPod playlist. "I have a little bit of everything."

"I want to hear what you listen to." Jack reached over and poked the shuffle button.

Immediately, to Annie's surprised amusement, one of her current favorites started.

_My heart's a stereo,_

_It beats for you so listen close,_

_Hear my thoughts in every no-o-ote._

Jack and Annie were nearly touching as they walked, their arms brushing ever so slightly every now and then. Annie's headphones weren't very long, so she had to be that close to him, in order to share. She repeatedly told herself that was the only reason.

_Make me a radio,_

_And turn me up when we feel low,_

_This melody was meant for you,_

_Just sing along to my stereo._

Annie's headphone abruptly feel out of her ear for no apparent reason. (A/N: Don't you hate that?) She sighed, mumbled an apology, then reached to try and stick it back in without pulling Jack's out.

Jack surprised her by taking it from mid-air and motioning for her to pause. She did so, slightly confused.

"If you wear it like this, it doesn't fall out as easily" Jack pushed his platinum blonde hair behind his ear for a moment and showed her how he wore his. He had the cord wrapped over the top of his ear, the wire resting in the crook where his ear connected to his head. The bud was curved and stuck upside down into his ear. "The top of your ear helps with pulling. Here." Jack casually stepped closer to Annie, hesitating for permission. That pause alone surprised her-he didn't strike her as the kind of guy who would.

Annie self-consciously pushed her bangs behind her ear, sliding off her glasses quietly. Jack seemed completely relaxed, wrapping her headphone around her left ear and gently pushing the bud in.

"Like that," he finished.

"Thanks," Annie offered, blushing. She hadn't expected Jack to try and "rescue her" from whatever he had heard, but she certainly hadn't forseen him touching her. Maybe it was just her, but it had seemed almost... intimate. Then again, he did kind of have the confidant air of someone who was... used to that sort of thing.

Annie and Jack continued walking in comfortable silence as they drowned out the world in the music. The song moved from "Stereo Hearts" to a calmer one called "Airplanes" by B.O.B. Annie joined in, chorusing with Haley Williams sub-consciously.

"_Can we pretend like airplanes in the night sky were like shooting stars? I could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now..._"

Jack didn't hesitate to join in, his breath sounding slightly forced-and it almost had an unplacable ring to it-but was still very good.

They song softly together, delving deep in their own thoughts until they reached the Hawthorne household. It was a ten minute walk or so, and they went through three songs- Stereo Hearts, Airplanes, and finally, Tell Me Your World by Hatsune Miku. Annie had laughed in pure shock when he was able to sing her song-albeit in a lower octave-in Japanese. She had been further surprised (pleasantly so) when she learned that Jack had the lyrics to every song on her playlist memorized by heart.

They stopped beside Jack's car. "Why do all of your guys' cars have that symbol?" she mused, putting her iPod away.

Jack seemed to tense for a moment, then relaxed. "It's just something we use to identify each other."

"Like a faction?" she clarified curiously.

"Exactly," he nodded.

"What is your faction called? Is Dad in it?"

"No, your crea-dad is just a friend of the group," he answered carefully.

It didn't excape Annie's notice that he'd dodged the first question. "What's your faction called?"

Jack hesitated, not answering for a few moments.

"It's not like it's Al Queda or something," Annie offered, smiling encouragingly.

It took him a moment, like he was processing something. Jack chuckled, getting her kind-of-joke far too late. "No, we aren't Al Queda. We'd be fragged."

"Fragged?" Annie was momentarily distracted by his unique choice of language. "Is that military slang or something?"

"Something like that," Jack answered, laughing almost nervously. "Anyways, I'm gonna crash." He opened the driver's door and slid in. He waggled his eyebrows. "My previous offer still stands. The back's all yours, if you want it."

"Oh, my gosh," Annie giggled, putting a hand over her mouth as if to hush herself. "You need to work on the way you word things. Anyways... Sure. I'll kick it here. Don't wanna get caught going back in."

"Leave your shoes outside please," Jack requested absent-mindedly.

Annie kicked them off, then crawled across the backseats and laid on her side across them. "Thanks, Jack."

"No problem, kiddo."

Annie closed her eyes, but a few moments later, felt a warm and slightly heavy blanket fall over her. She cracked her eyes open and met Jack's, which she realized for the first time seemed to almost glow.

"Thanks, Jack," she repeated softly, letting her eyes fall closed and her mind drift into oblivion.

*(The)*(End)*

Just kidding x3 Next chapter will be posted soon enough. This was a pretty light chapter, kind of a filler, but the next one introduces the plotline and is really intense from here on out. O.O Prepare :3


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